Fred's, (Used to be Barb's), Board

Figure Skating was one of the first sports that was practiced by women and men. However, originally only men competed in Figure Skating, starting in the 19th century. The first Championships of America was held in Troy (New York) in 1864. Jackson Haines won this event. He was a pioneer of Figure Skating and the first to include ballet and dance moves into skating. The traditional ice skating focused on tracing patterns on the ice.

The first European Figure Skating Championships were held in Hamburg, Germany, in 1891 and the International Skating Union was founded in 1892. The inaugural World Figure Skating Championships were held in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1896. The first woman to compete in a Figure Skating event was Madge Syers (GBR), who participated in the World Figure Skating Championships in 1902, competing against men – and finishing second to Ulrich Salchow (SWE).

Figure Skating was also the first winter sport that became an Olympic discipline when it was introduced in the 1908 Olympic (Summer) Games in London – with men’s and ladies singles as well as Pair Skating and, for the only time, special figures. The ISU World Figure Skating Championships included Ladies singles from 1906 and Pair Skating from 1908. Ice Dance was added as the fourth discipline in 1952 to the ISU World Figure Skating Championships and in 1972 to the program of the Olympic Winter Games.